Awesome Con 2016 came to Washington DC this year with a ton of content!
Making the journey to Washington DC, we got the chance to check out this year’s Awesome Con. Since the last time we visited the convention has grown quite a bit expanding their space, their attendees, and their guest list. We were able to get some great coverage that we will continue to post including updates to the Cosplay gallery (check below) and interviews with David Prowse and Jeremy London. But for now let’s get into the overall recap starting with the highlight event for Friday, “An Evening with Kevin Smith.”
An Evening with Kevin Smith at Awesome Con 2016
I personally have never attended one of Kevin Smith’s speaking engagements but I’ve watched many of them. To experience the event itself was a much more enriching experience. In addition to the laughs, the event carried a lot of emotional weight with Kevin Smith’s heartfelt honesty about his personal life and experience in the industry. JJ Abrams, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, and even George Carlin were topics of this discussion. But while those topics were more than enough to keep me engaged, there were two other moments that piqued my interest.
After an extended response to the first question from the fan Q&A session, another fan asked about the possibility of a sequel to “Dogma.” While a sequel itself seems unlikely, Kevin Smith did provide details about key plot points if it were to happen. We tweeted his responses to the question (as you can see below) but there were some interesting ideas he had for a hypothetical sequel. Here are a few of the highlights. Bethany’s (Linda Fiorintino) child would look like Alanis Morisette since she played God and gave her the child in the first film. He would also find a way to introduce the religion of Islam into the sequel since there is a lot of media surrounding the topic. Finally, the most hilarious part of the film would be a feud between Jay and Silent Bob because Silent Bob has become a Baptist priest.
The details for “Dogma 2” were very interesting but in my opinion, the highlight of the Kevin Smith engagement came from the third question. A fan went up to the microphone and didn’t have a question but instead just wanted to tell Kevin Smith what an inspiration he was to her. She called him “her George Lucas” and credited him with her involvement in the film industry. Kevin Smith responded by coming off stage to give her a hug and then taking her up on stage to talk about her film which is titled “The Blunt Truth.”
While she is still looking for funding, Kevin Smith did ask her if he could be in the film which was an astounding surprise. The audience cheered her on and applauded in response to Kevin Smith’s gesture and it went on to be one of the most surprising moments between a fan and a celebrity.
The Cosplay and the Floor
The convention was housed at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and it was a great venue for hosting an event such as this. Navigating the center was a bit confusing at times, but this is coming from someone who is “directionally challenged.” Once I made my way to the floor, I thought the layout was very well structured. The autographs and photo ops were all confined to the far right and some very good food selections and dining areas were setup to the far left. Starting from the left of the dining area there were a mixture of vendors and random influential artists and guests. Going further to the right there were rows and rows of artists that were more than influential in past and present pop culture.
But of course it’s the fans that make events such as these and the cosplayers surely made Awesome Con an event to remember. Check out the gallery below and if you see yourself, be sure to tag yourself on our Facebook page!